Head of Child Survival Position at Save the Children

Job Title: Head of Child Survival – Kenya Country Office

 

Position Code: HCS PDQ

Contract Duration:1 Year

Team / Programme: Kenya County Office

 

Programme Development and Quality (PDQ) Department

Location: Nairobi with frequent travel to field locations

 

Grade: TBC (Competitive Package)

Post Type: National 

 

Child Safeguarding: Level 3 - the responsibilities of the post may require the post holder to have regular contact with or access to children or young people

 

Role Purpose: The Head of Child Survival (HCS) takes overall responsibility for the strategic direction and coordination of Save the Children International’s work on health, nutrition and WASH in the Kenya Country Office. 

As a senior member of the programme development and quality (PDQ) team, the HCS is responsible for leading and overseeing the development and delivery of high quality, innovative, cost effective programmes in Health & Nutrition (H&N) both in emergency as well as long-term development, resulting in immediate and lasting change for children. 

The HCS is also responsible for initiating and taking technical leadership in H&N focused studies, documentation and dissemination of innovation and good practices; leading on policy research and advocacy on H&N through networking and collaboration with relevant civil society organisations and other institutions, and; playing a leading role in establishing, maintaining and expanding donor relations for the sector. 

WASH is a crucial cross-cutting element of Save the Children’s H&N programming, as well as contributing to the achievement of results in education and child poverty programmes. 

The HCS will supervise and support the WASH Technical Advisor to ensure that responsive and context appropriate WASH solutions are integrated in programme design and implemented effectively.        

Scope of Role: 

Reports to: Director Programme Development and Quality. Dotted line to relevant Area Programme Manager when in their area. 

Dimensions: Save the Children has been operational in Kenya since the 1950s, providing support to children through developmental and humanitarian relief programmes delivered both directly and through local partners. 

Current programming focuses on child protection, child rights governance, education, health & nutrition and child poverty. In 2012, as part of a global reorganization process, Save the Children combined the programmes of SC UK, SC Canada and SC Finland to create a single operation in Kenya. 

In Feb 2014, we completed a second transition, which saw us join forces with the British INGO, Merlin, and merge their health and nutrition programmes with our own. 

Save the Children now has an operational presence in Bungoma, Dadaab Refugee Camp, Garissa, Mandera, Turkana and Wajir and we work through partners in many other parts of the country. We employ more than 300 staff and had an operating annual budget in 2014 of approximately US$22 million.

Staff directly reporting to this post: Health Technical Advisor, Nutrition Technical Advisor, WASH Technical Advisor. Dotted line to Health Advocacy Advisor and Senior Health Programme Manager

Key Areas of Accountability:

Programme Development 

• Lead on development of thematic strategy in H&N including household health and nutrition practices, public health, nutrition and WASH services, in programme and policy designs in line with Save the Children’s Country Strategic Plan for Kenya
• Lead in developing and realising ambitious yet practical H&N and WASH plans as part of the Country Annual Plans
• Work together with PDQ and operations teams to initiate and design high quality, cost-effective, innovative and sustainable project proposals and concept notes for the sector
• Proactively seek information on potential donor sources and share project opportunities in H&N and WASH with PDQ and operations teams linking to Country and Area strategies on H&N
• Seek strategic linkages, wherever applicable, with other thematic areas of the Kenya programme i.e. child protection, education, child poverty, and child rights governance (CRG) for developing integrated programmes for difficult to reach children in Kenya   

Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

• Lead the development and implementation of relevant and sustainable capacity building strategy for area teams and partners including consortium partners on H&N and WASH in coordination with the operations teams 
• Provide technical guidance and inputs where relevant to the PDQ and operations teams and consortium partners and conduct technical review of donor reports to ensure that the reports are of high quality from a technical point of view as per expectations in the project proposals
• Assist the PDQ team to enhance the capacity of operations teams (e.g. programme/project managers) in developing appropriate systems for documenting and storing relevant information/data needed for donor and member reporting.  
• Provide elaborations and as required directions and trainings to managers in operations teams involved in delivering projects focusing on appropriate approaches and methodologies; conceptual and practical frameworks; standards and tools for effective and quality delivery of H&N programmes.

Representation and Advocacy

• Represent Save the Children in relevant internal and external fora including donor meetings (as appropriate) related to H&N
• Work closely with the Health Advocacy Advisor, PDQ and operations teams to develop policy research and advocacy strategy in H&N in line with the Country Strategic Plan and global strategy of Save the Children
• Leverage donor interest and government policies for the difficult to reach children in Kenya both in emergency and development situations through targeted advocacy/key messages
• Identify and capitalise key opportunities and events for Save the Children to position itself as the leading organisation for child and maternal health and nutrition in Kenya
• Work with consortium members wherever applicable to further Save the Children’s mission for children

People Management, Mentoring and Development

• Ensure that all technical staff in H&N and WASH understand and are able to adapt their roles in both emergency and development contexts
• Manage the H&N technical (PDQ) team; define expectations, provide leadership and support as needed, and evaluate direct reports regularly
• Ensure the recruitment, training, and promotion of staff as appropriate; ensure availability of and support appropriate professional development opportunities for staff in H&N and WASH
• Incorporate staff development strategies and Performance Management Systems into team building process. 
• Oversee that all H&N and WASH staff proactively build and maintain technical skills and competencies required for leading and/or inputting for first class programmes – both development and emergency nature
• Manage the performance of all direct reports through: effective use of the Performance Management System including the establishment of clear, measureable objectives, ongoing feedback, periodic reviews and fair and unbiased evaluations; coaching, mentoring and other developmental opportunities; recognition and rewards for outstanding performance; documentation of performance that is less than satisfactory, with appropriate performance improvement workplans
• Support the development of an organisational culture that reflects our dual mandate values, promotes accountability and high performance, encourages a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation, and frees up our people to deliver outstanding results for children and excellent customer service for our members and donors.  

Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation 

• Work closely with the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) Manager and take a lead in ensuring that all H&N and WASH projects and components have robust monitoring plans, baselines, reviews and evaluations in line with project designs and donor guidelines
• Technically assist the PDQ team in measuring achievement and progress towards program goals and results through the MEAL system
• Lead and work closely with the PDQ team to identify and lead strategic ground breaking research in H&N and WASH for development of innovative programmes and issue-based advocacy
• Facilitate appropriate dissemination of research findings and good practices documentations in the projects internally and externally to donors, governments, consortium partners and other key actors strategic for immediate and sustainable development of children in Kenya

Knowledge Management

• Serve as a technical knowledge, skills and experience hub for the sector in Kenya and in doing so play a leading role in introducing innovations in H&N programmes (gained from existing and emerging Save the Children’s global knowledge and practices) and in turn documenting and sharing best practices and innovations for replication and advocacy together with quality programme team.
• Work with technical resources among Save the Children members to facilitate sharing and learning in H&N good practices and leverage their support for strengthening H&N related studies, assessments, innovations, advocacy and capacity building in favour of children in Kenya   

Skills and Behaviours (our Values in Practice)

 

Accountability:

• Holds self accountable for making decisions, managing resources efficiently, achieving and role modelling Save the Children values
• Holds the team and partners accountable to deliver on their responsibilities - giving them the freedom to deliver in the best way they see fit, providing the necessary development to improve performance and applying appropriate consequences when results are not achieved

Ambition:

• Sets ambitious and challenging goals for themselves (and their team), takes responsibility for their own personal development and encourages others to do the same
• Widely shares their personal vision for Save the Children, engages and motivates others
• Future orientated, thinks strategically

Collaboration:

• Builds and maintains effective relationships, with their team, colleagues, members and external partners and supporters
• Values diversity, sees it as a source of competitive strength
• Approachable, good listener, easy to talk to

Creativity:

• Develops and encourages new and innovative solutions
• Willing to take disciplined risks

Integrity:

• Honest, encourages openness and transparency

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in medicine; public health; community health; health management with training and experience in and project planning and management techniques  
• Knowledge of current global and regional public health debates especially with reference to “child and newborn health” and emergency obstetric care
• Recommended a minimum of eight years of relevant technical experience including at senior level
• Proven experience of developing and managing high quality, innovative and cost-effective technical H&N projects in fragile and insecure environments, preferably in the Kenya context and with International NGOs
• Proven experience and skills in research and advocacy and influencing institutional, private and/or corporate donors and writing up high quality donor reports
• Experience of working with local/national governments and capacity building of systems, partners and staff
• Ability to extensively travel for project monitoring and provide on-site technical support to field teams 
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills including influencing, negotiation and coaching
• Highly developed cultural awareness and ability to work well in an international and matrix management environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures
• Strong results orientation, with the ability to challenge existing mindsets
• Experience of solving complex issues through analysis, definition of a clear way forward and ensuring buy in
• Ability to present complex information in a succinct and compelling manner
• Ability and willingness to dramatically change work practices and hours, and work with incoming surge teams, in the event of emergencies
• Fluency in English, both verbal and written, required
• Commitment to Save the Children values

How to Apply

Interested candidates are required to submit a CV and mandatory Cover letter to Kenya.jobapplications@savethechildren.org indicating the Position Code on the subject line by 23rd March 2015.  

Due to the urgency of these positions, applications will be reviewed as when receive them. 

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

Categories: NGO, SENIOR MANAGEMENT